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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27777913">Wait For Me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/millijayne13/pseuds/millijayne13'>millijayne13</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Good Draco Malfoy, Happy Ending, Healer Draco Malfoy, Light Angst, Memory Charm | Obliviate (Harry Potter), Post-Hogwarts, Post-Second War with Voldemort</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:13:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,278</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27777913</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/millijayne13/pseuds/millijayne13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Request: hi! can you do a request where draco performed the obliviate curse on his gf before the war, then met her again post war when he became a healer? the storyline is up to you! by the way, i really really like your fics 🥺 - anon</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Draco Malfoy/Original Character(s), Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s), Draco Malfoy/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>67</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Wait For Me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Originally posted on my tumblr @iliveiloveiwrite</p>
<p>Warnings: angst, mentions of nightmares and injuries, some anxiety, short words and tempers, swearing. A HAPPY ENDING or at least the start of one.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for reading!! Please leave a kudos and a comment if you enjoyed!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <em>1996:</em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You know why I have to do this, right?” Draco whispers: worried that if he were to speak any louder his voice would give away how close he is to breaking.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You nod once. A solemn nod that juxtaposes the tears falling freely down your face. How could you be agreeing to this when it made you feel like your heart was being ripped out?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” He whispers, arms reaching for you, the urge to touch too strong to resist. “If they used you against me or if you got hurt, I would never forgive myself.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You hush him; not missing the irony of the situation. To be comforting him when you were going to have a large chunk of your memories taken from you, it was almost laughable.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The final few moments together are spent in silence, wrapped in each other’s arms, getting as much of the other as possible before inevitably having to let go. You bury your face in his chest, almost refusing to let go of him as he unhooks your hands from around his waist.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The time has come; it’s come too soon.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You barely register Draco’s tears mixing with yours as he hauls you in for one last desperate kiss. His forehead remains pressed to yours as he whispers three words.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wait for me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Then everything goes blank. A flash of white and your life begins anew.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>No memories of the last year of your life; no thoughts about the blonde haired teenager that had occupied your mind and stolen your heart.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There’s nothing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Five years later: </em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The strong antiseptic smell has your nose crinkling in distaste. The overhead lights buzz as the bright light bounces off the overly clean floor; it makes your head hurt more. You place a tentative hand to the side of your head, frowning further when you feel the large bump growing there. Removing your hand, you sigh, remembering the tears of the pupil that had done this.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Not long after the war, a new decree was issued setting up centres of education for young witches and wizards that showed magical promise. They operated extremely similar to a muggle primary school; however these followed the curriculum created by the Ministry of Magic.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was in one of these schools that you worked, choosing to train as a teacher after finishing your education.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A rogue ball is what had landed you in the emergency room of the only magical hospital in Britain. It had come out of nowhere; the children playing happily as the weather had improved over the course of the day.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tapping your foot impatiently off the tiled floor, you had to admit to yourself it had been partly your fault for not seeing the ball before it knocked you on the side of the head and subsequently knocked you to the floor. The child, a young Hugo Ward, had felt terrible – sobs wracking his body as he apologised to you over and over again to the point where you had to reassure him you were fine.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>An hour after the accident, it became evident that you were not fine. The dizziness and double vision being symptoms of something worse, your boss had sent you off to St. Mungo’s without room for argument, promising you she would cover your class for the rest of the day.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“(Y/N) (Y/L/N),” calls the triage nurse. A blonde middle aged lady with bright eyes and a kind smile; she points in the direction of exam room two and you flash her a grateful smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The hospital bed is uncomfortable as you take a seat on top of the crinkly paper. The pounding in your head had not stopped since you arrived but the dizziness was calming somewhat, and for that, you were thankful. It happens as a flash; a memory washes over you of a large hospital wing, two rows of beds and an elderly lady with fierce determination written over her face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A single blink and it disappears. The flashes hadn’t happened for a while; the aftermath of a memory charm inflicted upon in your Sixth Year at Hogwarts. It wasn’t known who had done it; they had found you wandering the halls of Hogwarts alone and confused before realising what had happened. You had recovered fairly quickly; the only aftermath being the flashes of what could be memories.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You sigh, sinking further into the gurney as you think of the pile of marking waiting for you at home. Even a sore head couldn’t put off the inevitable.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Healer doesn’t look up as he enters, pulling the curtain closed behind him, “I’m Healer Malfoy, how can I help you today?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You sit straighter as you take in the healer. Blonde hair down to the nape of his neck, tied back with what seems to be a leather cord. He hasn’t looked up at you yet, but from your spot, you could tell he was handsome. A strong jaw being home to a distracting mouth. You look away, admiring the rest of him before you could be caught staring at his lips.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Healer Malfoy’s face slackens for a second as his eyes rake over your face. He collects himself after a second, but still, you noticed. He clears his throat, looking down at the chart in his hand. “(Y/N) (Y/L/N)?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You nod, “That’s me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You hurt your head at work?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Again, you nod, “Twice over. A pupil threw a ball at my head by accident, but I knocked my head on the playground as I fell.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Healer Malfoy places your chart on a nearby table, pulling latex gloves out of his pocket as he does so. He smiles at you, but there’s something guarded about the expression on his face that has question after question springing up in your overworked and pained mind.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Did you lose consciousness?” Healer Malfoy asks routinely, silently gesturing to your head, asking for permission to feel the injury.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No,” You answer, turning your head for him to feel the bump on the side of your head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You hear his sharp inhale as he examines the large bump there. As if seeing you hurt physically hurt him too, yet how was that possible? Thinking through your admittedly fragmented memories, you cannot find a whisper of what the blonde haired man could have looked like younger. Something niggled in the back of your mind, a feeling, a hunch. You didn’t know what, but it got stronger every time you met the grey eyes of the handsome Healer Malfoy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“This is going to sound odd but go with me on it please?” You say, voice lilting into a question at the end. The idea of not giving this man in front of you a choice simply abhorrent to you.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Healer Malfoy smiles: it’s polite and doesn’t reach his eyes. He takes a step back from you, needing the distance but also done with the examination of your injury. “Okay, I’ll go with it,” He states warily.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your hands clench into fists; overcome with the urge to try and coax a smile out of him. “I don’t know how else to say it. Do we know each other? You feel familiar to me, as if I know you from somewhere.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Whatever smile was on Healer Malfoy’s face falls the instant the words leave your mouth. His entire demeanour changes – shoulders stiff, hands gripping your chart so tight it could snap in half. Unclenching his jaw, Healer Malfoy grits out, “No. We haven’t met before.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Are you sure?” You press, deciding desperately that you needed to know the man standing in front of you.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Very sure,” He murmurs, scribbling your discharge notes and handing them to you. “I would remember you if we had met before.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The blank confession leaves you speechless. Blinking in what could only be described as shock, you take the outstretched papers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Your prescription is there too. You show no major signs of a concussion, just rest for tonight at least and watch out for anymore footballs,” Healer Malfoy starts, “Should you have any more problems, you know where to find us.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Taking the dismissal for what it was, you hurriedly grab your bag from the gurney and leave the exam room, taking extra care to hide the dejected look on your face as you pass the handsome healer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco watches you go. You all but sprint out of the hospital, almost desperate in your escape to get away from him and his short words.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The threat has been gone for years; vanquished not too long after the night Draco had taken your memories, after the night that continues to haunt his nightmares.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco Malfoy had faced the Dark Lord and lived – he has stared death in its sallow face and was not the first to look away. Yet, Draco was ever more terrified of what you would do should your memories ever return. Your rage was entirely more terrifying than staring into the soulless eyes of the man his parents so blindly followed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco releases a breath as he spies your figure finally leaving the hospital. The released breath does nothing to loosen the tightness in his chest; the tightness that had been there since that fateful night in the astronomy tower.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He’s had this argument with himself countless times, always the same words and the same fight. His own justification for why he did what he did; why he took your memories of your relationship and sent you away. Deep down, Draco knows that he should have communicated better. He knows that he should have sat you down and explained to you his worries and his fears. However, at barely seventeen years old, Draco was just getting used to the idea of love. He knew what was coming; he knew that there were dark times ahead and he was unfortunately aware of how you could be used against him should the time come.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He had a decision to make, so he did. Thinking back on it now, it had almost killed him. He had never experienced a pain like it. Draco had been hit with the Sectumsempra curse and the pain that followed was nothing compared to the pain he felt when erasing your memories.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco turns away from the door. You’ve disappeared around the corner; your head bowed, and shoulders hunched. He has no reason to watch you now. He turns away from the door, wondering whether it was fate that had brought you back into his life after such an absence.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>An absence he caused.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-------</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You return to work the day after; feeling fine enough to stand in front of your class and deliver your lessons of literacy and maths but also of spellcasting and magical control for infants. You followed your lesson plans to the letter; resolutely refusing to stray from them should they let your mind wander to the handsome healer and his cold words.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The healer continues to play on your mind for the rest of the week: at work, at home. You would go over the brief conversation you had with him; wondering at which point his demeanour changed, that he became closed off and cold. He hadn’t been welcoming from the beginning, but by the end of it he had downright cold. It should have warned you off; it should have been warning enough to keep your distance and to do your best to ensure you never needed to return to the emergency room, yet there was something about him. There was something hidden within his grey eyes, a dark secret ravaging him from the inside out and you felt desperate to know what it was.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-------</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As much as you adore your vocation, as much as you love coming into work and greeting the children with a smile, there was something sweet about sending them home to their parents. A sweet relief that loosens the weight on your chest somewhat.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A shock of blonde hair has you turning back to the school gates. Your breath catches in your throat as you recognise the handsome face of the healer that had treated you only a week ago. His face not one you felt like you could forget.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Healer Malfoy?” You call out, confused at his presence.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He smiles bashfully, “Draco, please.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Draco,” You greet. “Do you often make home visits?” You tease, a smile crossing your face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Technically, I’m at your place of work so this would be a work visit,” Draco comments, laughing lightly, seeming to be in a much better mood than the last time you had met him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your smile grows larger at the sound of his laughter. “Okay… do you often make work visits?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He shakes his head, “No. I do not.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why are you here?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Two reasons.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And they are.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“One, and one I thought of just now – I wanted to apologise for my behaviour at the hospital the other day, I was rude, and it was out of line so I’m sorry.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You have nothing to apologise for. I doubt that you get asked by many of your patients whether you know them.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco smiles, “You’re right, I don’t, but nevertheless, I shouldn’t have been so rude, and I apologise.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Then I accept your apology, only if you accept mine.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He goes to argue but stops himself at the last possible moment. You meet his gaze head on, watching the emotions pile up there. There’s something lingering in his grey eyes; something deeper as if he has more to apologise for but he isn’t ready to confess to what or why he even needs to say more.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What was your second reason for being here?” You question, curiosity piqued but also wanting to move the conversation on, unable to look into his grey eyes any long for the fear that your heart may burst out of your chest.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco smiles, “I’m picking up my godson.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Your godson? Do I know who he is?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You might. Tobias Dawsey?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Recognition flashes across your face as you picture the small brunette in your mind’s eye. “I do know him! I taught him last year,” You all but shout, “He’s your godson?”<br/><br/></p>
<p>Draco nods, “He is. I’ve worked with his mother from my very first day at St. Mungo’s, she asked me to be godfather when she found out she was pregnant with him.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His words warm your heart; the care he has for his godson obvious in his voice. You go to say more, to try and coax more information out of him. Your need to know him almost choking you with its intensity, but for the life in you, you couldn’t figure out why you needed to know him. You move to speak, but you’re interrupted by the excited crow of a young child.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Uncle Draco!” Tobias shouts, running up to his uncle on his little legs, his bookbag banging against them with every step.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey kiddo,” Draco greets, picking up the child making grabby arms for him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you know Miss (Y/L/N)?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco nods. “Miss (Y/L/N) came into work the other week,” He states, thankfully not exaggerating further.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tobias frowns, turning his attention to you, concerned about his favourite teacher, “Are you okay though?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You smile at the young brunette, “I’m all better. Your Uncle Draco fixed me up.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tobias nods seriously, “He’s the best Healer ever.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You laugh; the love Tobias has for his godfather so clear within his voice, it only warms your heart further. “I have no doubt in that, Tobias. Off you go anyway, I wouldn’t want to keep you from getting home.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tobias and Draco wave at you as they leave the school grounds. The smile on your face doesn’t fade as you watch them walk away, the young boy chattering the ear off his devoted uncle.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Deep down, where you would only admit to yourself and no-one else, you hoped that you would get to see the handsome blonde healer again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-------</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Over the following weeks you spy Draco’s presence more by the school gates. Tobias clearly adores him, sprinting into his uncle’s arms the moment he sees him waiting for him. Crossing your arms across your chest, you comment, “You must be a very devoted godfather to volunteer to pick up Tobias this often.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco shrugs nonchalantly as if the task of reorganising his shifts was nothing of a chore, “I enjoy spending time with him and…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco ducks his head, feeling the familiar heat of blush creep up his neck, “I like talking to you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He feels like it’s the wrong thing to say. He <em>knows</em> it’s the wrong thing to say. If he had an ounce of human decency within him, he would turn away from you the moment Tobias arrives. He would walk away from you, never to come back into your life again. What he did all those years ago was unforgivable despite having your permission. Draco knows he shouldn’t be back in your life, but now that he had seen you once or twice, he had to see you more.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He felt like an addict. He couldn’t leave you alone. Draco didn’t want to if he was honest with himself especially when you grin at him so widely his heart pounds in his chest.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You duck your head, your hair hiding your face. “I like talking to you too even if it is only at the school gate,” You shyly admit.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Then we should change that,” Draco stutters out before he backs down. He wants to kick himself; he should turn away from you now and leave you alone for good, but that one selfish part of him that powers his heart tells him to stay put.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If possible, your smile grows larger, “Then we should change that.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>------</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The friendship feels so natural once it starts; once the both of you get past the initial awkwardness that seemed to loiter from Draco’s cold words earlier in the year. It started with longer conversations at the school gate, but then he would come with Tobias’ mother and wait for you as Tobias would reluctantly leave with his mother. From there, it grew into a timid friendship that slowly grew more surer of itself as you invited Draco out for food or to museums or to spend the weekend with you, walking around the city when he wasn’t working.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>However, as the friendship became more solid, you could not ignore the way your heart sped up with every smile and every laugh. You could not ignore the way your face heated each time he winked at you; a private joke shared between you. It didn’t feel like a passing fancy. It felt like something deeper, as if the feelings had been there before and had been dormant until now. You felt as if you were always meant to feel this way about Draco – the feelings tugging on memories you weren’t even sure were yours. Flashes of blonde hair and the powerful scent of jasmine all tied in with late nights in a tower you could barely recognise. Draco made you feel like the only person in the world; he was supportive and kind and funny. He was everything you could want and more – how could you not fall for him?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was still the remaining secret though. It haunted him; his eyes clouded over whenever it was on his mind as if he was returning to the very memory itself. He would return shier, unsure of himself as if the friendship he had forged with you was about to implode and leave him shattered once more.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You ask him about it once. The two of you sat on your couch; you introducing Draco the wonders of muggle films and showing him your favourites when you catch him zone out. Your finger reaches out, pokes his cheek. “Where did you just go?” You question, a smile in your voice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco reaches out, grabbing your finger, “Nowhere of importance.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You frown, pulling your finger out of his grip, “You do that a lot.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do what a lot?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Disappear on me. It’s like you have something big to tell me, but you just aren’t ready yet.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco feels certain his heart stops in his chest. He tries to laugh but it comes out strangled; choked by the worry creeping up from his gut. Draco opens his mouth to reply but you beat him to it. “I’m not saying you have to tell me what it is now,” You start, “I just want you to know that I’ll be here when you’re ready.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco closes his eyes, rests his head against the back of your couch. You had so graciously opened your home to him, opened your life and offered friendship to him, and he felt awful. As he should, he thinks to himself. He had taken memories of importance from you, and here you sat, unaware of the crime and sitting with the criminal himself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It felt like there was a countdown ticking over his head. It felt like he only had a certain amount of time until he had to come clean and he had to tell you about that night in the astronomy tower.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Yet for all that was in him, for all that created his moral compass, he couldn’t bring himself to tell you and ruin whatever was blossoming between the two of you. Draco supposes he is a coward. He probably is, he tells himself, but he cannot bring himself to care about his cowardice when you smile at him like he holds the sun and stars for you.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Does he regret that night? With everything within him. Would he do it again knowing the outcome? Of course he would. He would sacrifice himself  and his happiness a thousand times over to ensure your safety.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---------</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco tells himself he’ll confess the next time he sees you which is both all too soon and not soon enough. His love for you had never faded; he hadn’t been the one to forget the short relationship you had. The intensity that accompanied teenage love and infatuation had never left the forefront of his mind. After all, how could they? Now that you were back in his life, he felt the teenager again – utterly drawn to you and unwilling to let you go.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He confesses late on a Tuesday night. The shift at St. Mungo’s had been long and arduous, but he got through it with the single thought of you. He knew that at the end of it, he would get to knock on your door. He only hoped that you wouldn’t turn him away once you found out the truth. Your hatred of him could never rival the hatred he feels for himself, but he finds himself hoping for your forgiveness.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I have to tell you something,” Draco states, plain and simple.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You chew on the inside of your cheek before answering, “You can tell me anything.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You had a memory charm used on you in Sixth Year, didn’t you?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How did you know that?” You demand. Despite the friendship grown between the both of you, you hadn’t told him that. You had given him bits and pieces, alluded to the fact that there were gaps in your memories, but you hadn’t told him the truth. Just like he hadn’t told you what made him disappear inside his mind like he so often does.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I took your memories. It was me.” Draco confesses, his voice clear in the quiet room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What?” You shout, anger shooting through you.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I took your memories. I used a memory charm on you in the middle of Sixth Year when things started to take a turn for the worst.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What gave you the right?” You cry, tears building out of upset and anger.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You did,” Draco states plainly, “You didn’t want to at first, but you came round to my way of thinking when you saw how bad things were getting at home.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why would I agree to that?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Because once upon a time, you were in love with me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You shake your head, pacing back and forth in your living room, trying to get to grips with the piles of information only just dumped on you. Draco watches you pace; his grey eyes following each step intently as you work through everything in your head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Worry shines bright in his eyes when you stop pacing. He goes to take a step towards you, but you step back. The small space between you feels like a great chasm, a gaping void that Draco is desperate to fill, to patch up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tell me everything,” You state before adding on, “Please.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco releases a shuddering breath before starting: “We were friends through school. I don’t remember how the friendship started, but it did and for years we were really good, close friends. Then along the way, the friendship changed. We fell in love, or whatever it is at sixteen/seventeen years old. We had less than a year together when things started to change; when whisperings of the Dark Lord’s return were strengthened by continued attacks on the Ministry.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You argued with me for hours,” Draco pauses, laughing as he remembers what you clearly couldn’t, “I had never seen you so angry or so stubborn. You were adamant, you didn’t want to but then you went quiet and I knew you saw what I had seen. You agreed after a minutes silence; told me yes even though it broke the both of us to do so.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco’s grey eyes are lined with unshed tears as he murmurs, “I couldn’t let them have you. My family was working with the darkest wizard there had ever been in the last century, if he had gotten a whiff of what you meant to me, you would be used in ways that not even I could imagine. My aunt would have taken great pleasure in ensuring that you would be a bargaining chip for me to fulfil whatever mission they handed me. That was something I couldn’t allow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It broke me to do it. To watch your eyes go blank as the memories of what we shared disappeared. Selfishly, I asked you to wait for me, not knowing that they would be tied to you afterwards. I just… I couldn’t let you go. As a teenager and an adult. There’s no real excuse for what I did, but know it was out of love for you that I did it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco falls silent. His heavy words adding to the growing tension in the room. Draco’s mind runs a thousand miles a minute; his eyes don’t leave you as he watches you work through every emotion coursing through your body. He sees the anger, the sadness, the frustration, but he also sees the relief at having an answer for those gaps that you had only recently confessed to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You break the loaded silence, “I forgot the relationship, but on some level I don’t think I ever forgot you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What?” Draco asks, the air rushing out of him in one fell swoop.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A smile creeps across your face; relishing somewhat at having caught him off-guard. “I have glimpses of what I always assumed was a past life. The memories were always fuzzy around the edges, but they were clear enough for me to catch glimpses of blonde hair or to spy the pattern of a ring much like the one on your signet ring.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco remains silent; he doesn’t dare talk; he doesn’t dare breathe. Nothing prepares him for your next words.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I waited for you… like you asked.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Those words. Those foolish words that he had absolutely no right to whisper to you. Draco had been so overwhelmed in that moment, yet he couldn’t ignore the small kernel of hope that despite the strength of the memory charm, a part of you would remember him and would wait for him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But you had.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You had waited for him. You barely knew who he was, but you had waited for him, hoping that one day he would cross your path.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Fuck,” Draco whispers, running a hand through his growing hair, starting to pace the length of your living room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“When I woke after my memories had been taken, I clearly didn’t remember a single thing, but I had the echoes of three words ringing in my ears. A beg, a plea of someone – a boy asking for me to wait for them. I didn’t know completely who I was waiting for, I didn’t know it was you until I saw you at the hospital that first time and then again so soon after leaving. My memories haven’t returned, and I doubt they will, but I just know that it was you who I was waiting for.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco falls silent, letting your words fall over him and sink into his skin, settling deep within his bones.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Years. It had been years since that night in the astronomy tower where he took your memories. It had been years since he felt the longing and love; there had been no-one lese and there would be no-one else. For Draco, there was only ever you… and you had waited.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You had waited for him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Draco repeats, hands continuing to run through his hair in frustration as he paces the room. He faces you; grey eyes wild with emotion, “How are you not angry with me?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I am angry with you! I’m furious with you, Draco! You took my memories, but if you say I agreed to it, I’m just as angry with myself for allowing myself to forget you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What do we do?” He asks, a hand running down his face as he tries to figure out the next step.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Forgiveness,” You state simply, “We try to move on.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco’s hands drop limply at his side as he gasps, “Forgiveness?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What happened after you erased my memories, Draco?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“There was a war. I was on the wrong side,” is all he says. He isn’t ready to go into too much detail. That’s another story for another day.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Was that what you were trying to protect me from? The wrong side?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco nods wordlessly. He saw things going south so quickly but his parents hadn’t. They pushed and they pushed; inducting him into the same pureblood fanaticism they relished.  “How can you even think of forgiving me? I took your memories. I stole them from you, and you won’t ever get them back,” He argues, wanting to know whether you truly understood what you were doing by forgiving him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Let me ask you something, Draco.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you plan on leaving again?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He shakes his head immediately. He doesn’t think he could leave you even if he tried.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You shrug your shoulders, “That’s how I can think of forgiving you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I don’t understand,” He whispers; his own self-hatred confused by your words.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The wizarding war was about to descend into war. We were confused, scared teenagers who didn’t see another option. You asked my permission, Draco, and I granted it clearly.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But-”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You cut him off, “No buts. I said yes. I gave permission and we cannot change the past, Draco but we can control our future. It’s going to require work on both sides, but you can tell me about what I’m missing and at the same time we can forge something new.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What do you mean?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You smile shyly, taking that all important step towards him, “Make some new memories with me, Draco.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much for reading!! Please leave a kudos and a comment if you enjoyed!</p>
<p>Tumblr: @iliveiloveiwrite</p></blockquote></div></div>
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